If you're going to San Francisco...

There are over forty-seven named hills in San Francisco. In the past five days, I think I’ve walked most of them. The Graduate has no idea when he will next see the city, so he drags me around the city at high speed. It shames me to think I’ve been here for a year and yet seen more sights in a single four-day period than in something close to eight months.

A plywood waitress at the Golden Gate Grill 

We have walked, either alone or in the company of my brother, stopping off on his way home from Australia, around all the best known parts of the city, and my feet are feeling it. On Saturday we had breakfast at the Golden Gate Grill off Union Square, a loft-like upstairs diner with large planes suspended from the ceiling, booths and circular seats topped with red leather. at around $10 for a stack of pancakes it was a pretty good breakfast, enough certainly to sustain us as we climbed from Union Square to the Coit Tower ($7 to get to the top), at one of the most famous peaks of the city. San Francisco was doing what San Francisco does best: a protest march, and Market street was flooded for hours in the afternoon. Thousands were marching against GMO situation, in red smurf hats, bumblebee costumes (no, I’m not sure either), bearing placards against the patenting of Mother Nature.

Sing-a-long Grease in the Castro

Public transport- some of the best California has to offer- was the biggest drain on our funds. Taking the BART in and out once a day came to about eight dollars, and the muni transport (the trams, the metros and electric buses) was $2 a ride. Even on the day we walked through a riotous carnival in the Mission District to the Golden Gate Park- about five miles up and over hill with a detour through the Castro- we must have spent about $15 each on getting to and from, then around the city. Still, if you can cope with the size and frequency of the hills, I'd say get walking. You'll be amazed at how much ground you can cover in a good pair of shoes! 

Despite leg cramp, we refused to be deterred by the hills, and picked up rental bikes from Shattuck Avenue’s bike station to strike out across the Golden Gate to Sausilito on Tuesday. This was my second time crossing the bridge, and this time I noticed, asides from the amazing views of the city and the churning water below, that there were phone boxes placed strategically along the eight thousand feet of metal girders and suspension. Small plaques above the phones said simply There is Hope. Make the call. 

It was windy as hell out in the middle, and although I knew the gentle shaking under my feet was down to the car engines, I suddenly couldn't get back off there quick enough. We freewheeled down to Sausilito and wandered the streets before catching the ferry back to the San Francisco waterfront. I probably won’t go back onto the bridge, at least not for my remaining time in America.

Mission District Carnival

I think I'll always have regrets for not managing to make more of my time around San Francisco and Berkeley, but I am so happy to be having the opportunity to show some of my favorite people what I’ve been up to and where I’ve been living all year. I really believe it will make returning to the UK a little less lonely. 

Next stop, LA!